>> that is what we talked about on the commercial break. >> sweet potato pie. >> now you know. happy thanksgiving to you. thanks for joining us early. it's 5:00, i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm jon kelley. happy thanksgiving, everybody. for a lot of people getting your laces on, getting your shoes and taking a run has been a thanksgiving morning tradition. right here in the south bay thousands will be hitting the street to help feed the hungry. organizers right now this morning setting up for the eighth annual silicon valley turkey trot. bob redell is live in downtown san jose right now. bob, just a great race, great cause. >> reporter: yeah, good morning to you, jon. what's remarkable if you think about the silicon valley turkey trot, when it started eight years ago, there were roughly 1900 runners. today you're looking at around 25,000 and a little bit more if you include the kids running. it's been raising money to charity. started out around $132,000 raised that first year. this year it's going to be over

$1 million because of a last-minute anonymous donation that came in. carl gardino is the brains behind this. i'm curious from your point of view to be, oh, i started this thing and look how big it's become. >> it's amazing the generosity of this community. of course our citizens who care about the needy, the companies who care about local needs and all of us coming out together on another beautiful thanksgiving morning to run or walk to help those who are not as fortunate as we are. >> and it has become a tradition here where people come burn so  many calories, perhaps not enough to offset the ones they'll add later in the afternoon at the thanksgiving table. are you surprised to see that many people willing to get up on what's traditionally the family day at home. >> the average american consumes 4,000 calories during their thanksgiving meal. that's twice the allowance for the entire day.

so we stay come out and start your holidays in a fun and healthy way and have a good excuse for that second slice of pie. we're not surprised because people want to build community. they want to start their holidays in a fun and healthy way and we allow that opportunity to do that. >> so the 5k and 10k. you still have about 1,000 slots available. you have until 6:00 this morning to register online. the kids run you can walk up from 9:00 to 10:30 by the hp pavilion and that's still only $10. parking, what should people know about parking. >> yes, we have 11 free parking garages. if you go to the sv turkey trot website, please look at that so you know where you're going or jump on vta, ride your bike, et cetera. but there are many ways to get here. the first race, our 10k, goes off at 7:50. the 5k goes off at 8:30. our kids fun run goes off at 10:30 and people can register on

site for the kids run from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30. >> carl, thanks again for being up early. one thing that's different is the starting line is at market and santa clara. they had to do it because the streets are wider to accommodate the bigger crowds. reporting live here, bob redell, "today in the bay." new this morning, israeli troops pulling back from the gaza border today after reaching a truce with hamas. people filling the streets of gaza this morning celebrating, waving flags because that cease-fire has finally come after eight days of conflict. israel had threatened a ground invasion in the gaza and stationed tanks and soldiers along the border. as part of the cease-fire agreement brokered with the help of president obama and secretary of state hillary clinton, the two sides must now work out a plan to open the borders of the palestinian territory. at this hour it's still unclear whether that truce will hold. the violence in gaza is the worst that region has seen in

four years. a total of 161 palestinians were killed during relentless rocket strikes from israel. 5:04. chevron will be under the microscope in richmond as it repairs its damaged refinery. the company is required to share documentation during the repair process and if the repairs don't seem aduate, the city may force chevron to redo them. chevron has said it will rebuild the unit to previous specifications, but will replace some vulnerable pipes with stronger metal. several members of the city council say they want to make sure chevron is focused on making safety improvements, not just fixing what's broken. a san diego inmate the first to be released under california's revised three strikes law. that was approved by voters earlier this month. kenneth corely was serving 25 years to life on a record of nonviolent crimes, mostly burglaries, but he was released under the new rules in prop 36.

now, prop 36 changed the law to require the third strike to be a violent or serious felony. the changes can be applied to inmates already sentenced under the three strikes law. an oakland school board member still fighting to keep her seat weeks after losing on election day. alice spearman is challenging the results in court. she said her opponent, james harris, has no right to sit on the school board because of where he lives. harris lives in oakland but his neighborhood joined the san l leandro school district. it is 5:05. you want to know in my mind what perfection is? thanksgiving, a big feast, lots of sunshine and sitting next to you on a thursday. >> oh, he's full of it today. >> and christina loren right now. >> we like to hear that, jon kelley. good morning for you. 48 degrees in san francisco. we're stuck together. 37 in napa and 46 in sonoma.

as you are getting ready for the day, he is right on point, as usual. temperatures will be comfortable enough to eat outdoors. lots of sunshine, we had the rain come through so our air quality, yeah, usually cannot get any better than where it is right now. it's going to be just a beautiful day. high pressure is building in. what happens is we get this offshore flow. the marine layer is pushed out to sea. you don't have to worry about that thick fog. we are going to see some patchy fog but i don't expect it to be there for long. any fog that does develop will be at the coast or the extreme east bay creeping in from the delta. keep that in mind. overall we're looking mostly clear. we're expecting the mid to upper 60s everywhere across the bay ar area, even at the coast. tom the turkey, yep, that's tom the turkey, he likes to show up once a year. thanks for showing up, tom. back to you guys. >> i wondered what that was running around over there. it's a big turkey. >> save the turkey.

5:07. a possible holdup for apple's new south bay campus. we'll tell you what's standing in the way. also the macy's thanksgiving day parade just getting under way out in new york city. we will go live and check the parade route next. hi, i'm lieutenant michelle martinez. i'd like to give a shoutout to my husband paul and my kids, as well as my parents, my sister tina, my two nephews and also my nieces in oklahoma. happy holidays and happy thanksgiving. go redskins!

welcome back, everybody. happy thanksgiving to one and all. while you're there chilling out at your house getting ready for a big feast, some people are

putting on their sneakers getting ready to do the turkey trot. congratulations to all. i think it's quite the feat to do both, eat a lot or run a lot. >> how about both and get a double decker pie. 5:10. while your loved ones watch the parade we have some tips to help you cook the finest thanksgiving meal ever. nbc's nicole talks with turkey experts over at butterball hotline. >> reporter: sitting down to enjoy dinner with family an friends on thanksgiving day is the best part, but all the work it takes to get all that food to the table could turn into a fiasco. >> sometimes i burn high turkey. >> i burn the pecan pie. >> cut my finger. >> turkey not done enough. >> dish towel or fire. >> reporter: don't worry, no cooking question is too tough for these turkey talkers. if you're having a cranberry crisis or can't remember when to baste your bird, just pick up the phone and dial the highly trabd experts at the butterball

hotline. >> we are all food pros. we all have degrees in home ec or dietitians. >> reporter: the butterball hotline has been up and running for more than 30 years, answering more than 100,000 cooking questions annually. the highly trained turkey talk experts can help prevent any dinner disaster. but sometimes they get some pretty interesting questions. >> we are the turkey experts, but when people call and want to know where they can rent a turkey costume, not our area of expertise. >> reporter: turkey experts from butterball say they get quite a few calls frommen. >> a lot of calls from men, but one call that we do get on thanksgiving is that they have left the little treasure bag into the turkey and are really upset. the giblet bag is designed to go through the heating process. it's okay. >> reporter: so to get to the dinner without the headache, you know who to call. >> i didn't know butterball had a hotline. >> you didn't?

>> i don't cook turkey so it doesn't matter. >> you're going to find out really quick like because coming up a little later in this newscast we're going to talk to the experts at the butterball hotline so you get your questions ready, young man. >> sure. how do you do it? the big thanksgiving tradition as well for a lot of folks across the country, they're going to tune in to watch the 86th annual macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> it is always a party. today in the bay's jay gray is live in midtown manhattan where that pray is just about to jump off. good morning, jay. how's it looking out there? >> reporter: good morning, jon, laura. happy thanksgiving to you, everybody at home. it's looking great. the weather is perfect out here and it is a huge party that has started here. take a look behind me, you can see the excitement on the ground here. the parade just under an hour away from starting. the nets have been taken off the huge balloons here and they are ready to roll. you can see kermit there and then charlie brown behind him. come back down to the busy street here with so many clowns and so many people staging for

this event. more than 900 clowns are part of the parade. and if you look through, you can almost see one of the floats here. it's just packed on the ground, as you can see. a lot of excitement here. there will be 40 floats and one very special float this year, one that honors the first responders to superstorm sandy. of course so many in this area affected by that storm. everyone who's a part of the parade today also wearing a red cross pin to remember not only those lost but those trying to recover and trying to rebuild. a big part of that is getting back to what's normal. and what's normal here in new york is this huge parade on thanksgiving morning. more than three million people will beelining the streets here. more than 50 million people watching at home. jon and laura, i hope it will we on at your houses as well. >> it's a given. >> reporter: i'm jay dwgray. happy thanksgiving. >> happy thanksgiving to you, jay. thanks a lot. enjoy it. >> actually they're going to play it twice, i think, nbc. >> which is very smart.

if you missed it or just want to watch it again, enjoy the magic all over. around here we're enjoying a lot of sunshine. mother nature hooking us up this thanksgiving. >> she is hooking us up. we had to get through that rain yesterday but it cleared just in time for people to hit the highway without very dangerous conditions so everything is working out on schedule. 48 degrees in san francisco, 37 in napa. happy to tell you highs today are going to creep up by about 5 to 8 degrees from yesterday. and yesterday was not too bad at all. 44 in san jose, 42 to start in gilroy. did want to point out we are dropping off in visibility. up in napa you've gate a mile and three-quarters but elsewhere a quarter of a mile. not expecting dense fog to return widespread until tomorrow when high pressure will build in because of the recent rain and force all that moisture right to the surface. right now we are looking good. temperatures are comfortable. we have no delays anywhere

across the bay area. no flight delays to report, no highway delays. we even gave mike the day off because of that. he'll be back as we head throughout next week. i did want to talk about the new snow totals. yeah, i know laura, her little antenna just went straight up in the air. we've got good-looking numbers for you. two feet at the face of heavenly. squat valley upwards of two feet. almost 3 to 4 feet in kirkwood and mammoth. that's where we have the most snow right now and we're only going to get more throughout next week. they're also making that snow so conditions are really, really great. 67 in livermore today, 66 in san jose and 67 in los gatos. still early in the season, laura. we've got a lot more to go. looking like a very active winter. 70 degrees by friday. the great news is we're going to hit the 70s. we'll be a little above average, just a touch as we get through friday, saturday and sunday. that means you don't have to use the heater or the ac. conditions will be perfect for your family who might be in

town. heading to the city today, one of those days we don't have any fog to report so really looking fantastic. the envy of the nation. southern california will be a little too warm so i call it perfection in the bay area as per usual. back to you two. >> and we love picture perfect, christina. thank you very much. well, i guess you could say thursday is the new black. that's because black friday is starting earlier than ever with a few stores actually opening tonight at 8:00. some of the people going to the extreme. they're going to skip their thanksgiving dinner altogether. come on. to get their hands on those hot deals. people you can see camping out there. this is the best buy in pinole. they have been camping out there since not last night, last week. so the question is how can you know if black friday, those discounts that they have, are really worth your time and that lack of sleep? well, here's one general rule of thumb. >> 40% is a pretty good threshold to know you're getting a good deal. anything above that happens pretty rarely. anything below that happens

often enough you likely will see that again. >> i think he's a dealologist. here are a couple of other black friday tips here. check the sales out ahead of time online so you have a better idea of what kind of deals might be in store for you. also here's another tip that guy didn't tell us. look for online coupons that you can actually bring with you when you go holiday shopping. sometimes they'll let you get the sales price plus the value of the coupon. as you mentioned, most of those major shopping centers around the bay area as well will open their doors after thanksgiving dinner. great mall in milpitas opening at 10:00 p.m. and will remain open for a full 24 hours of shopping. the new paragon outlets in livermore will also open at 10:00. two hours later, stoneridge shopping center right there in pleasanton and also valley fair in san jose. they're going to open their doors at midnight. many stores at the premium outlets in gilroy will open at 9:00 p.m. tonight with the entire outlet mall opening by midnight as well.

>> i always mark my calendar for those dates so i just stay away. 5:18 right now. some malls coming up with a cool idea here, using a new tool to make sure kids can stay safe at the mall. a mall in sacramento now giving kids wristbands with their parents' cell phone numbers written on them. that way if the kids get lost while the parents are shopping, the kids are usually found. the security chief says he got the idea after visiting the monterey bay aquarium where he noticed some kids wearing wristbands that had phone numbers on them. facebook may not let users decide on changes to its privacy policies anymore. the company says the voting system has become ineffective because it's only if enough people comment on proposed changes. the system emphasizes quantity of responses rather than the quality of discussion. it will continue to let users comment on proposed updates. it turns out the apple spaceship will take a little longer for mission complete.

apple says it's futuristic looking headquarters will not be finished until 2016. apple and the city of cupertino say that there will probably be some delays coming up for environmental impact reports, meaning the 176-acre campus there will not break ground until 2014. the plan was originally to break ground next year. about 12,000 apple employees will be working in what's called apple campus 2. scott mcgrew says it looks like a big ashtray. cupertino officials plan to post an updated set of plans on the city's website shortly after thanksgiving. speaking of apple, a few changes ahead for their retail stores. for example, the new express shopping table. i actually just saw that yesterday. >> were you there getting my present? >> not revealing anything. you'll find out soon enough. for those of you who know exactly what you meant, a section full of gadgets that you can just grab and pay for with one simple swipe of your credit card, no waiting required. now, apple also is using up a

shopping app to let you buy and send gift cards via e-mail. >> mini wants a mini. i'll just tell you that. >> mini wants a mini. i like that a lot. i'll keep that in mind. taking notes. 5:20 right now. coming up, a bay area couple of banned from shopping at their local 7-eleven. we'll tell you why. also impersonating hunter pence. we'll show you some exclusive outtakes from the new giants world series movie that's worth sticking around. we'll have it next. i'm from san francisco, california. >> petty first class aaron brown from mississippi. i'm from san jose california. >> happy thanksgiving! >> i'd like to say hi and i love you to my family and my daughter. >> i'd like to say hi and i love you to my parents and my wife. >> i'd like to say hi and i love you to my friends and family in san jose. go niners! [ male announcer ] this december, remember --

♪ you can stay in and like something... ♪ [ car alarm deactivates ] ♪ ...or you can get out there with your family and actually like something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on, offering some of our best values of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection.

welcome back, everybody. happy thanksgiving. take a look at this, the los angeles international airport, also known as l.a.x., a little foggy there. kind of resembling san francisco. but look how smooth and clear those roads are. yesterday they were just packed out there. it looked like an electrical grid. but people must already be safe and sound where they're needing to go. it's 5:23 right now. closer to home, a fair tfax couple now banned from shopping in a 7-eleven located next to their home. the store's owner made that decision after he alleged the husband threatened him. words were exchanged after the couple successfully had the 7-eleven's 24-hour permit revoked. the couple had complained of late-night noise coming from that store. giants outfielder hunter pence earned the nickname the reverend for his pregame speeches during the team's world series run. now his teammates have turned

impressions into credits for the world series dvd. check it out. >> today, boys, is a chance for us to make history. >> i don't care what they say about us. i don't care about them. it's about the guys in this room. >> nobody has been what we've been through. nobody will stand in our way. >> i love you guys. i will go out there and die for you. >> pagan, i want to play with you tomorrow. >> that is really good. >> every time you get filet mignon. >> every out, every inning. >> every time you get a piece of chicken, a piece of fish, you want to throw it on the grill. you've got to think win. >> they were having fun. >> you've got to throw it on the grill. >> you've got to win. >> that's good stuff. and that inspiration, plus the symphony music. i was getting a little chill right here. >> that's a good dvd. a lot of people will want that for christmas. >> that's classic. 5:25 right now.

christina loren showing us some spectacular weather that will probably send some chills up your spine. >> give us the best forecast. >> put it on the grill. >> that's a lot of pressure. let's do it. temperatures are going to be comfortable. maybe you're having chicken instead of tom the turkey for dinner. well, 68 degrees inland, bayside 64 degrees and 65 degrees at the coast. our furry little friend causing quite a stir in the newsroom, guys. i'm going to have to send it back to you. >> that's some real fresh turkey. yes. >> yes, it is. it's 5:25. the statute of liberty isn't going to open this year. there's too much cleanup work from hurricane sandy. while the statue of liberty received little or no damage, some of the docks, railings and other facilities on the island were destroyed. crews say there's so much work to be done they cannot project an opening date so far. >> all right. 5:26 right now. some new research here shows for

the younger generation smartphones are becoming more like appendages. online psychology degrees following smartphone usage of people under the age of 30. the findings nothing short of mind-blowing. 90 pblgt of people 18 to 29 actually sleep with their smartphones. that's bananas. one in three would give up sex before their phone. that's sad. 95% say they use their phone for something before going to bed and half admit they check their phones immediately if they happen to wake up in the middle of the night of the that's addiction. experts say the smartphone usage is actually hurting the quality of sleep many people are getting. it sounds like it's hurting a few other things aside from sleep. >> i'd say. >> sad but true. 5:26 right now. still to come on "today in the w bay" a bay area family stepping in to feed hundreds of people. you'll hear why they're doing it coming up next. and right now we take you back live to new york city. yes, the macy's day thanksgiving

parade. we have our man on the ground, jay gray, out there to tell us all about it. we'll check in to see the festivities.

a. it's a tradition that's been going on here in san francisco for at least 30 years. glide memorial church serves up a traditional thanksgiving dinner for people in need. i'm christie smith. we'll show you the preparations already under way. >> reporter: and i'm bob redell. we'll take you live to downtown san jose. you still have 30 minutes left to register for the turkey trot, which is becoming one of the largest of its kind in this country. we'll have that story coming up. and it's a beautiful, clear start for the turkey trot. temperatures are much colder than yesterday morning. we're headed towards a gorgeous thanksgiving afternoon. your full forecast in just a few moments. let's take a live look outside. beautiful bay bridge in san

francisco. happy thanksgiving to you. thanks for getting up early on this november 22nd. this is "today in the bay." good morning once again. thanks for joining us. 5:30. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> and i'm jon kelley. thank you very much for sharing part of your thanksgiving holiday with us. hundreds of volunteers hard at work at san francisco's glide memorial church. they're there making sure thousands of homeless people have a warm meal for thanksgiving. today in the bay's christie smith joins us live from glide with a look at all the work out there to make sure no one goes hungry this holiday. christie, what a great cause. good morning. >> reporter: absolutely, good morning and happy thanksgiving to you, jon. you know, this is a tradition that's been going on here in san francisco since the '80s. so popular, in fact, that i am shoulder to shoulder with other reporters all covering this, this morning. i want to step aside so you can see a little bit of what's going on. the volunteers actually don't get here until a little closer to 6:00 this morning, but what

they have done is set everything up so when the volunteers get here, they can get right to work. 5,000 meals they'll be serving, 500 volunteers. what they're going to do is cut up all these vegetables for salads. the turkeys and hams are already cooked. they just need to be cut up. their usual clientele is families in need and also a lot of people they don't normally see. for many of these volunteers, it's also a tradition. >> we've got regulars, so about 5:30 we'll start seeing some of the regulars. we have one didn't i that cuts ham in the same place every year. we have another guy that comes in and he sharpens our knives for us. families that have been coming since their children were little and now they're adults. and so we have a lot of regulars that come in to volunteer. >> reporter: most of this is all donated. they tell me they actually start planning for this way back in august. it's going to get a little exciting later on. the actual thanksgiving meal iserved starting about 7:00 this

morning. some cast members from the lion king are going to be here talking to folks, helping to serve and we're also expecting to see reverend cecil williams a little later this morning. reporting live in san francisco, christie smith, "today in the bay." in the meantime, oakland family turning thanksgiving dinner into a community affair. fred morris and his family have been feeding the hungry for the last five years. morris, his mother, godmother and aunts, they cook using their own money. donations from the community, to prepare the dinner. they're expecting to feed about 500 people this year. >> it is people that, you know, have lost their jobs and people that have children. some parents say, well, i didn't really ever think i would be in this line. but they're in the line now. >> we get them from all walks of life. and it's great to show love and to give the love to the community. >> what a great family. they're going to serve their

thanksgiving dipper at the rain bow recreation center in oakland at 11:00 a.m. and serve until the food runs out. good for them. it is really nice. we'd like to remind you of another way to help local family have a family holiday. nbc bay area and safeway stores teaming up for the end hunger now food drive. i was at morgan hill this past weekend. marla, christina, scott, jon, all in san jose collecting donations. hey, you can still help, whether it's canned food or money. you can donate throughout christmas day. >> great things happening there. for those of us or those of you feeling a little extra motivated this morning, get out and lace up those running shoes. the eighth annual silicon valley turkey trot kicks off in just hours and our very own bob redell, i think he's run 10, 12 miles so far and is up there getting things started, bob. how are you feeling?

>> reporter: i think it's more like 10 or 12 feet. then i get winded. good morning to you, jon and laura. happy thanksgiving. first of all, this is the eighth annual silicon valley turkey trot. you still have time to register for the 5k and 10k. just to give you an idea of how much this race has grown over the eight years, this year they had to move the starting line to downtown san jose where there's a wider street and more space to handle the extra runners. in the eight years the turkey trot has gone from 1900 runners to around 25,000. that makes it one of the largest thanksgiving day races, second to one in detroit, and it's all for charity. the first year they raised around $132,000. this year it's around $700,000. add to that an additional $500,000 because of a last-minute large anonymous donation. so they're raising over $1.2 million this year. for runners, this has become a tradition here in the south bay. a way to offset this afternoon's impending weight gain.

>> the average american consumes more than 4,000 calories in their thanksgiving meal alone. twice the recommended daily allowance. so this is a great excuse to maybe eat a little bit more later because you burned off a few more calories. >> they still have space for the 5k and the 10k. those races start around 7:45, 7:50. you must register online. no walk-up registration on those. they have extended the registration online until 6:30 and might push that back further. they have about 1,000 slots. you've got the costume contest at 7:00. the races at 7:45, 7:50. later this morning is the kids run. they have got 1200 kids registered so far for that. you can walk up and register for that rooechbt between 9:00 and 10: 10:30. they do have 11 parking garages they have opened in the downtown area so obviously there will be a lot of people. most of these garages, not all,

are free. reporting live here in downtown san jose, bob redell, "today in the bay." >>. new this morning, east palo alto police investigating two shootings this morning. the first happened on fairington way around university avenue around 5:00 last night. police say a man was shot in the leg at a home. the second shooting happened three hours later less than a mile away on tulane avenue. the victim there was shot twice, but was able to get to the hospital on his own. both victims are expected to be okay. we can also tell you all lanes of interstate 580 are now open again this morning after a shooting investigation shut down that westbound lane and the lanes over there for over an hour. police say they heard reports of two cars shooting at each other near the seminary exit, that's near mills college. the freeway shut down for almost three hours during that investigation. a second crime scene was discovered about a mile away on hilton street. that's where police found a

body. now, police say they're not sure at this time if that is related to the original shooting we discussed. 5:37. the lawyer of the man charged in the deadly crime spree in the south bay says his client is remorseful. jonathan wilbanks barely raised his head in court yesterday. he's charged with killing rory parkpettiford of campbell and trying to kill a police officer. in an exclusive interview, wilbanks younger brother said his family is stunned and feels sympathy for the victim's family. >> we all need to unite and donate to the family's loss. i don't know why this stuff happens, but that's the only way to make the situation better right now. >> wilbanks could face the death penalty. police are still looking for a second suspect who took part in the string of armed robberies who preceded the deadly shooting. there is a $25,000 reward for his capture and conviction. police are doing what they can to help the family of rory parkpettiford.

created a site called cops for rory and hoping to raise $8,000 by monday. just $550 has been donated. to help out visit healthdonor.com. cops for rory is a featured fund-raiser. it is 5:38 right now. let's check back in with meteorologist christina loren to give us a very sunny thanksgiving forecast. >> oh, it's going to be nice around here. good morning to you. temperatures are a little bit chilly to start and we have a little fog developing. napa, three miles of visibility, not too bad there. but you'll notice this gray over the central valley. fog is gopping thedeveloping th. travel cautiously. maybe you're heading to sacramento this morning or fresno. 45 in livermore, 44 in san jose and 43 degrees in sunnyvale. we gave mike the day off, but i have been checking all the live cameras across the bay area and there's really no traffic to even talk about, so that's the good news. if you are trying to get out there, maybe just head to grandma's house. at noon today, it's going to be

perfect. 62 in livermore, 62 in antioch. at noon, we still have an additional four hours of warming to go before we hit our highs. our highs will be 70 degrees in livermore, 69 in gilroy and 67 in santa teresa. we want to help you make those weekend plans for you, your family, your friends. stay tuned for your seven-day outlook in my next report. right now back to you guys. well, you're an expert, christina and i are both admitted train wrecks in the kitchen so if you need some help getting that turkey dinner ready this morning, the experts at butterball will be here. plus the balloons are filled, the bands are lined up. we'll take you to the macy's thanksgiving day parade in new york city next.

it is a big-time party at the big apple. hundreds of thousands of people now on the streets of new york city this morning getting all ready for the macy's thanksgiving day parade. >> things will get under way in just a few minutes in new york. jay gray is live on the parade

route with a preview for us. good morning, jay. >> reporter: hey there, laura and jon. yeah, the excitement is building. everything getting ready to jump here in new york city. take a look at the balloons, the nets are off. kermt kermit is ready to fly, charlie brown behind him. back down here on the streets you can see all of the clowns getting in place. more man 900 and, no, that does not include us in the media. around here you can see the floats and there are 40 that line the streets here on central park west. one very special one this year is one to honor the first responders to superstorm sandy. of course that affected this area so dramatically and a lot of survivors given a front row seat to this parade. maybe they'll get their mind off the recovery for just a few hours. it's going to be a great day, the weather is great so hope you'll tune in as well. that's the latest live here, i'm jay gray, back to you. >> so the parade starts at 9:00 a.m. right here on nbc bay area. you can watch it while a lot of

folks probably getting that turkey ready. >> to make sure the turkey is just right for all your guests, we're talking to an expert right now, tara is right now a butterball expert and she's on the talk line there to help us out. tara, good morning. happy thanksgiving. >> good morning. happy thanksgiving to you. >> thank you very much. now, i know nothing about what's going on in the kitchen, so you can help me out. the key question that i want to know is what's the key to keeping that big juicy bird moist? >> that is a great question and i would recommend that you use your meat thermometer, that's your -- sort of your weapon, your best friend. make sure that the thigh meat registers 180 degrees and the breast meat registers 170. if you're going to stuff your turkey, it's 165 in the center of your stuffing. also use a piece of the alum numb foil over the breast area, tent it lightly after it's roasted two-thirds of the cook time and that will protect that white meat. >> are you a big baster? >> i do not baste the turkey.

>> really? >> yes. because every time you open the oven door, the heat escapes and then it has to calibrate back up. if you want a golden turkey, just brush it or spray it with a little bit of vegetable oil. use our open pan method and roast it for the recommended temperatures and the recommended time and you should have perfection. >> all right. it sounds fantastic. you know, tara, we're going to talk to you in our next hour with some other questions as well. a lot of people fry their birds now. >> there's all sorts of ways to do it. >> remember turducken? they have layers of thing. >> no, i don't remember that. tara is educating me right now. i mastered the art of eating. >> there you go. that's okay, that's okay. we want to check in with meteorologist christina loren. you're a honey baked ham girl? >> and i've mastered the art of the bib. indeed, indeed. good morning to you. 37 degrees in napa, certainly necessary. 48 degrees in san francisco.

it's chilly in petaluma, 39 degrees. cold enough for some frost up in napa so go ahead and bring in those sensitive plants if you left them out yesterday. and you want to keep those pets indoors. i wouldn't let them out for any more than an hour. we're still going to end up warmer, a nice rebound on the way. high pressure will build in, drive those winds offshore. that's going to keep the fog out of the area today. beautiful, clear conditions even in san francisco today. it's going to be gorgeous out there. we do have a developing dry wind, that's going to help keep that marine layer out to sea. then we'll hit the mid to upper 60s. the 70s on the way for tomorrow. so 68 degrees in livermore, 69 in gilroy and 67 degrees in santa teresa. i want to remind everybody after thanksgiving everybody starts gearing up for christmas. just immediately after thanksgiving. some of the tree lightings are happening on black friday. i'll be at ghirardelli's square

tomorrow night, i'd love to see you out there. 5:30 p.m. is when the tree lighting actually happens. it's going to be a family event. i understand santa claus himself will be breaking from his busy schedule to show up. 71 on saturday, 69 on sunday. monday and tuesday into wednesday you'll notice the temperatures drop off not by much but we do have a steady decrease as we head throughout monday through wednesday. the system will be lurking offshore. that's going to drive in quite a bit of cloud cover and keep our temperatures cooler than what we're expecting over the course of the weekend. so enjoy this fair stretch while it lasts. we are expecting showers wednesday into thursday of next week. back to you two. >> thanks, christina. it is 5:46. the man who now admits he broke into the home of the late steve jobs is apologizing to jobs' widow. kareem mcfarland admits he's guilty of breaking into the palo alto home stealing electronics, champagne and jewelry. investigators also linked him to several burglaries around the

bay area, but it was actually an apple gadget he stole from jobs' home that helped track him down. he entered a plea before a judge but he didn't stop there. he reportedly sent an apology letter to jobs' widow as well. the deputy district attorney says he read the apology letter and believes it's sincere. >> i think so. i think he made a terrible mistake and he certainly affected a lot of people. he'll have to pay for what he did. >> mcfarland will be sentenced in january. let's have it out in public. that's the message from san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi to mayor ed lee during a speaking event tuesday night. mirkarimi says it's awkward that he and mayor lee only speak through the chronicle. he's suggesting meeting in front of a live audience to try and hash out their differences. the two are kind of becoming arch rivals here, not seriously talking since the board of supervisors voted five weeks ago to allow mirkarimi to keep his job. lee led the effort to oust the

sheriff after mirkarimi pleaded guilty to a domestic violence charge earlier this year. we're getting some new insight on the nhl lockout and those closed-door negotiations between the league and the players union. yesterday the players presenting an offer to the nhl but it was quickly rejected by commissioner. after leaving yesterday's meeting he told the media when you're dealing with a union that really isn't trying to negotiate, there isn't much else you can do. and with frustration mounting, sharks forward logan couture tweeting out it just seems the other side isn't willing to make it work. it hurts. games are cancelled through the end of the month and it looks like more could soon be cancelled. the 49ers apparently have made their decision on who's going to start at quarterback. colin kaepernick is in, alex smith is out. "sports illustrated" reporting coach jim harbaugh telling smith kaepernick will be the starter sunday, taking on the saints. kaepernick had a great game just last week. smith out with a concussion, but reportedly the decision has

nothing to do with his health. it has to do everything with kaepernick. he had a great performance monday night leading the 49ers past the bears. it's 5:49. hostess gets the go ahead to liquidate. but it doesn't mean the end for twinkies and ho-hos just yet. a look at what's possibly next for your favorite snack foods next. and cameras rolling when a military man meets his wife with a nice surprise that she never saw coming. we'll show you what she and her husband did and we'll let you know how their thanksgiving is going for the entire family, something they'll never forget. hi, this is major zarza. i want to wish my family a happy thanksgiving. i miss you guys, i love you guys. i'll see you guys soon.

welcome back, everyone. happy thanksgiving to you. taking a live look outside. new york city this morning where they're getting ready for that big annual thanksgiving day parade. what a holiday tradition, whether you're there or maybe have it on the tele a little bit later as you cook your bird. we've got a lot more to come. live shots from there. >> a little side note going on there local time 10:59. the saratoga high school band will be marching down. new york what we're talking about here. that will be cool so tune that in if you have a chance. >> east coast celebrating the west coast. >> hooking it up. there's a soldier stationed in afghanistan, a really incredible story. he made a surprise visit this thanksgiving holiday just to be with his expecting wife. >> a beautiful thing to watch unfold here. natalie from our nbc station in seattle has more on a very special homecoming.

>> sometimes down hospital hallways, you come across hardships. >> he wanted to be here as much as i wanted him here. oh, buddy. >> the story is filled with her. >> i wanted to be in the room by myself. i had set myself up to just do it on my own. >> reporter: amanda erhart arrived at tacoma general tuesday to give birth on her own without her husband, matt. >> he was the only person that i wanted to hand our healthy son to. >> reporter: matt was out of reach on his third tour of duty in afghanistan. so when the time came, she was wheeled into the hospital room alone. what she didn't know was that a secret mission was happening steps away. >> i knew it meant a lot for her. >> reporter: with the camcorder rolling, matt delivered a big surprise. >> oh, my god! oh, my god! >> reporter: and a second

delivery arrived just 15 minutes later. >> i tried to keep it a surprise because i got her hopes up a couple of times and it didn't happen. >> reporter: it took a month of asking before he received the permission. it took more than a dozen hours of traveling before he was home. >> got here just in time. >> the best mission ever. >> reporter: the best mission ever that brought mom, dad and baby together. >> it's just perfect. it was just really nice he didn't have to miss out on his healthy son being born. that was just -- i don't know, that just really means a lot. >> what a beautiful story that is. some day i'm sure what that little one grows up, he may like twinkies, ho-hos and wonder bread. how about that for a transition. a bankruptcy judge approving hostess' request to close the plants and liquidate assets. the approval coming just a day after a last-ditch effort to try to end a strike with the

barracbakers union failed. about 15,000 workers will be laid off immediately. >> it hit me like a stab in the heart. 30 and a half years on the job. i have a wife, kids, mortgage. i have to provide for other people. >> hostess says it's planning to keep about 3,000 employees to help with the initial phase of that winddown. the entire process should take about a year. hostess, for the record, founded way back in 1930. that's a lot of wonder bread. it seems this week if people aren't talking about the twinkies, they're talking about those black friday sales that have turned into black thursday. big retailers are opening their doors later today enticing shoppers away from the dining room. others already spending their holiday in line. you know, people have been camping outside best buy in pinole now for days. >> bananas. >> yeah. the quest for bargains has proven pretty divisive. some love the crowds and discounts. others say they're losing track of the real meaning of

thanksgiving. >> at 12:01 a.m., it's still way too early to be opening for a business day, even though i understand about the sales and everything. but at least give the people some sleep, you know. let people have time for their families the whole day. >> protesters actually marched inside walmart in oakland yesterday. they say the retail giant is forcing employees to work the holiday. an online petition asking target to close on thanksgiving has more than 300,000 signatures. but they're still going to be open tonight at 9:00. >> hopefully it will make a kifs for next season. 5:56. just make every day a sale. right, christina? >> hey, i'm optimistic and i think that's a great idea. good morning to you. we're all getting paid in abundant sunshine today. temperatures will be in the upper 60s. 68 degrees in livermore. not a lot of separation between your temperatures at the coast versus those inland. 66 in san francisco.

no fog for today. it's going to be spectacular. 5:57. back to you guys. >> thank you very much. we continue to help you get ready for thanksgiving dinner. we'll talk again with the butterball experts coming up. >> i love them. ♪ i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! my bowl, my spoons! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios has whole grain and 110 delicious calories. ...more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios in multi-grain cheerios peanut butter.

tradition and turkey. this morning we're celebrating thanksgiving as the macy's parade rolls through new york city. we'll have that coming up just ahead. >> reporter: and the hams and turkeys are all ready to go this morning in san francisco at glide memorial church, ready to serve hundreds of people in need. i'm christie smith. we'll have that story coming up. and if you have family an friends visiting the bay area, what a treat. weather today will be perfect. it's cold to start. we're headed towards close to 70 today. your full forecast in just a few moments. what a beautiful day expected across the bay area. taking a live look outside, san francisco. happy thanksgiving to you. it's thursday,